The leaves began to speak to him in a language he knew but could not understand. And then they began to sing to him.“Lawrence lay in the bottom of the trench, his face in the rotting leaves, the scent of life and death mingling in his nostrils; his eyes, assailed by all the colours of the world. Gold; brown, orange; yes, even green. And red. So much red.”

Private Henry Lawrence, appears to be just another wounded soldier but, encouraged by a former mentor, Dr. James Pennyworth has been persuaded that Lawrence might be just the subject they have been seeking for their study of savantism.Gradually, it will dawn upon Pennyworth that Lawrence is no mere savant. For, not only does he experience the world in a unique and inexplicable manner, he is beginning to discover how it might be… manipulated.

Pennyworth will seek the assistance of a Cambridge mathematician, widowed by the war and together, against the backdrop of the War to End All Wars, they will try to unlock the mysterious mind of Henry Lawrence.

The story of Henry Lawrence is told here through contemporary documents and papers as well as the letters and journals of those who knew him.